Affected by declining sales, cosmetics brand MaxFactor will see the number of its sales outlets shrink in Taiwan, after its local distributor adopted a passive strategy to marketing the brand.
Starting in June, MaxFactor products will only be available at its sister brand SK-II's counters in all deparements such as Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store (新光三越).
The brand's distributor Procter & Gamble Taiwan (P&G,
"The news of a withdrawal is not possible. MaxFactor is quite a well-performing brand in Japan, where it is both a mass market and counter brand," Christine Wu (吳卉蓁), SK-II public relations manager with P&G, said in a telephone interview.
However, she did not deny that MaxFactor's market share is small and stressed that the merger plan was part of the firm's latest strategy to position its SK-II skin-care brand as a prestige label.
"Skin-care products have become a sought-after area as consumer loyalty is strong and users need new supplies more often than they do with make-up products," Wu explained.
"On the contrary, make-up users always look for the latest fashions, which causes weak loyalty and unstable sales."
The firm would now invest 90 percent of its resources in promoting skin-care products in order to expand its customer base, which means MaxFactor's presence would be marginalized.
She stressed that consumers would still be able to purchase MaxFactor products in around 360 locations nationwide, including department stores, health and cosmetics retailer Watsons and hypermarkets.
But the product mix would not be complete and would only be available upon request, Wu said.
Established in Los Angeles in 1909, MaxFactor was formally introduced into Taiwan in 1965. P&G acquired the brand in 1991.
Wu refused to disclose sales figures, citing confidentiality.
Statistics provided by Pacific Sogo Department Store (太平洋崇光百貨), which runs seven outlets in Taiwan, showed that MaxFactor revenues in its best-performing Zhongxiao branch slid from NT$17 million (US$516,500) four years ago to NT$7 million last year. Its sales in the last two months only just surpassed NT$300,000 per month, the retailer said.
MaxFactor's influence began to dwindle several years ago as other professional make-up brands, such as MAC and Bobbi Brown, captured the youth market, said a department store executive in charge of the cosmetics business, on condition of anonymity.
"It's difficult to operate both skin-care and make-up products like P&G have been doing. That's why the firm is adjusting its marketing strategy," the executive said.
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
UNCERTAINTIES: The world’s biggest chip packager and tester is closely monitoring the US’ tariff policy before making any capacity adjustments, a company official said ASE Technology Holding Inc (日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip packager and tester, yesterday said it is cautiously evaluating new advanced packaging capacity expansion in the US in response to customers’ requests amid uncertainties about the US’ tariff policy. Compared with its semiconductor peers, ASE has been relatively prudent about building new capacity in the US. However, the company is adjusting its global manufacturing footprint expansion after US President Donald Trump announced “reciprocal” tariffs in April, and new import duties targeting semiconductors and other items that are vital to national security. ASE subsidiary Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密) is participating in Nvidia
RSS